A group from Endicott took the stage at the fair Tuesday to compete in an annual talent show. Turns out, they more than competed.

Tap dancers from A Leap of Faith Dance Academy performed a powerful piece on stage dedicated to the U.S. military.

"I think it brings us together a lot as a dance family," said Kali Cornwell, of Binghamton, "I guess you could say, to be able to show people a more meaningful dance and to be able to get out of our own area."

They performed in front of larger crowds than at their county fair performances. Each group made it to the top 10 and will return this weekend for the semi-finals.

"It makes them try a lot harder," said Amy Heath, owner of A Leap of Faith Dance Academy. "They want to do well so they practice a lot, you know they do very well."

Another big showcase for local talent is inside the 4-H clubhouse. Tioga County 4-H members handed out chicks Tuesday to crowds that aren't used to holding baby chickens.

"They're usually more local so they might have been more experienced with animals," said Daniel Popp, of Newark Valley, "But here you have all different people who have never seen birds before."

Daniel handed out the young chicks and had some of his own raised chickens on display. The 4-H club members are impressed by how long the lines are to see the poultry.

"It's good to do different things and explore different things than just the rides and stuff," said Marlie Lukach, of Endicott, "Because you can do that anywhere. But there's different things in agriculture that they don't have at other places at our state fair."

Young talent from the Southern Tier say every time they visit the state fair they return home feeling proud.

"It feels good to represent," Cornwell said. "People know about us now, so it's really exciting."